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Abstract
Glucocorticoids (GCs; i.e. cortisol/corticosterone) are a central component of the
stress response and thus their measurement is frequently used to evaluate the impact
of stressful situations. Their metabolites from faeces of various animal species are
more and more taken as a non-invasive aid to assess GC release and thus adrenocortical
activity. The current literature review includes an extensive collection (1327 papers)
and evaluation (see also Supplementary Tables) of the literature on faecal cortisol/corticosterone
metabolite (FCM) analysis published to date. It aims at giving reference for researchers
interested in implementing FCM analysis into their study or seeking to improve such
methods by providing background knowledge on GC metabolism and excretion, conveying
insights into methodological issues and stating caveats of FCM analysis and by highlighting
prerequisites for and some examples of a successful application of such methods. Collecting
faecal samples and analysing FCMs may appear simple and straightforward, but researchers
have to select and apply methods correctly. They also need to be aware of the many
pitfalls and potentially confounding factors and, last but not least, have to carefully
interpret results. Applied properly, measurement of FCMs is a powerful non-invasive
tool in a variety of research areas, such as (stress) biology, ethology, ecology,
animal conservation and welfare, but also biomedicine.